“It is God who judges: He brings one down, he exalts another.” (Psalm 75)All of us are used to dealing with expectations on a secular level. We set them for others. We work hard to meet others’ expectations of us (parents, teachers, bosses, colleagues and friends). And we routinely negotiate expectations (the ones we have of others and the ones others have of us). And then we judge our selves and we judge others. Perhaps it’s natural for us to try to do the same thing with God—to negotiate God’s expectations of us and to question God’s guidance, decisions and judgment.
“Should you not fear me declares the Lord? Should you not tremble in my presence?” (Jeremiah 5)
“I am not going to the festival, because my time has not fully come.” (John 7)
But, if we have faith in God, are we not in a better position to accept God’s grace and redemption, and to live according to God’s law? Should we not fear God because of the power he has over each of us as well as all of creation? Should we not have the confidence that God will judge each of us according to His law and expectations? Does this submission to God’s will not free us from our own insecurities?
In John 7 we see the example Jesus set for us. Jesus’ brothers encouraged him to go to Judea so that he could “show himself to the world” and become a public figure. But Jesus knew that God had something different in mind. Jesus chose to follow God’s direction rather than the advice of his brothers.
— Nancy Grable
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